


Credence

by PhantomWriter



Series: Time I'll Never Know [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angel Castiel (Supernatural), F/M, Gen, Single POV, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22144588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomWriter/pseuds/PhantomWriter
Summary: Castiel knows about the brother of the Righteous Man, knows him by face and name.But when he sees Sam Winchester in person, Castiel knows nothing of this young man with a tattered soul and who is apparently from the future.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel & Sam Winchester, Rowena MacLeod/Sam Winchester
Series: Time I'll Never Know [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581745
Comments: 2
Kudos: 175





	Credence

The prayer that beckons him is a surprise.

Castiel listens to the voice calling his name, and he thinks… he thinks he knows whose voice it is. Only when he flies to the source of the prayer does he confirm who has been seeking him.

It's Sam Winchester, the brother of the Righteous Man, the boy with the demon blood. Castiel knows him by name and by face, and Sam Winchester has the reputation that precedes him. But the moment Castiel, unseen, lays his eyes on this young man, he's treated to a sight he doesn't expect that catches him off guard.

A soul tainted with swirls of both celestial and infernal influences greets Castiel instead of the pure brightness he expects to come from a young human who's far from sinful to have his soul tarnished in such a way. It was as if it got dragged across Hell, broken down to pieces, and pieced together haphazardly without care.

Castiel notices the chipped section of Sam's soul that contains something else that feels different—familiar but old, older than him. Almost as old as…

"I know you're there, Cas."

Startled, Castiel realizes that he's the 'Cas' Sam spoke of. He reveals himself, perplexed as to how the human could have known. Sam looks up at him immediately from his supplication. He's smiling at Castiel with a kind of softness that he often sees on humans when they're happy or with someone like a family or a friend. The angel doesn't understand what warrants the fondness he finds directed at him and for once in his long life, Castiel's mind brims with questions upon questions that have no answers.

He settles for the simplest one. "Who are you?"

"Sam. Sam Winchester," Sam says with a touch of dismay. "Dean's younger brother." He notices Castiel squinting his eyes, unconvinced. "But you already know me, don't you?"

"Yes," Castiel says without hesitation. He approaches Sam carefully, intrigued and suspicious altogether. "Though I don't know how you know me. You know what I am for you know how to call me. The better question is, what are you?"

Sam stares at him for a moment before answering, "I _am_ Sam Winchester." He places a palm on his chest. "So you saw it too. My soul. It's no longer what it was, but I'm still a human as far as I know. Just went through the wringer, I guess." He smiles ruefully.

Castiel frowns at the choice of words but doesn't question the colloquialism lost to him. "That's impossible," he hears himself say. "What you're telling me is impossible to happen to you yet."

He cocks his head and pauses.

"Yeah," Sam agrees. "Not yet." He stands and moves towards Castiel until they're at arm's reach. He trails his fingers over his own temple. "I trust you with my life, Cas, because I know what you'll become. I definitely trust you with these as well."

Sam's soul is weary and worn. He's tempered by time and the life he has already lived through. Castiel is no stranger to time travel and has ridden the flow of time himself a couple of times. For a human to ride the stream of time is something else, and Castiel cannot fathom what could drive Sam to desperation that redoing his years is the only option left for him.

With some careful consideration, Castiel gingerly touches Sam's forehead and searches his mind.

There are several images all at once, and Castiel easily picks the oldest memory Sam wants to show him: two young brothers spending the night alone without adult supervision, left on their devices at some derelict lodging while their father hunts through the state for any lead on Azazel. The older of the two boys took care of the younger one, and he grew up quickly that way. It was Dean Winchester, and what should have been his childhood was practically nonexistent. He was a hunter at a young age, tagged along with their father by his adolescent years, and he adjusted with ease at the fast-paced lifestyle hunters seemed to have. He was happy to follow his father's steps and principles, but unlike his father, he was warm towards his younger brother and wasn't eager to lead Sam to the same life, which was why Dean was supportive when Sam decided to leave and pursue a different future albeit it meant separation from the family.

Castiel sees a woman with blonde curls. The images of her smiling face occupied most of Sam's early memories of his respite from hunting. She was a dear person to Sam, and her death by the hands of Azazel's agent changed something in him, like a little dim in a bright shine of hope and optimism. Her death spurred him back to his life on the road and reunited Sam with his brother Dean. She was part of Azazel's machinations, yet her passing still left a raw wound that only closed when Azazel was finally killed.

There's a brief period of nothingness, and Castiel recognizes it as Sam's death for a short while. It was the catalyst of Dean Winchester's death and his ticket to Hell. Castiel doesn't linger, though for an immortal, admittedly, there's something oddly and morbidly fascinating in that memory.

Sam Winchester returned to life without remembering death, and he continued life as it was until he found out about the deal his brother made, and it took an effort from Sam not to do the same, all the while reigning in Dean's recklessness born from the knowledge that he would only have a year. Sam desperately searched for answers that in the end all for naught when Dean was torn by Hellhounds in front of him.

Sam was on the path of vengeance and darkness following Dean's death. Sam allowed himself to be lured by the wiles of a female demon who encouraged his abilities and strengthened them with her own demon blood. Castiel is familiar with this, and he hears as well that Sam eliminated the stain recently when his mind became clear from her manipulations.

That's why Castiel is surprised when a different scenario plays out in Sam's memories, and from then on differs.

In the memory, Sam continued with the consumption of demon blood. He grew to love the demon, and she used it against him. In the end, she was able to push him to kill Lilith, thus breaking the last seal and freeing Lucifer.

Castiel was there, and Sam was reverent the first time he encountered him. Castiel was formal towards him, the same way he was with Dean Winchester who couldn't show him respect, but the other angels were more unsympathetic; Uriel, for example. Castiel acknowledged Uriel as a fellow, though they never did see eye to eye, and that apparently came to a head in the timeline Sam came from.

Castiel noted that he became an angel that was perched on the brothers' shoulders despite Sam's memory of him saying otherwise. Castiel watches as his presence became more and more prominent in Sam's memories. He grew close to them, and he was their companion. They acclimated him to the ways of humans, and it took Castiel a while to get a grasp on them. It was Dean Winchester who wanted to change him, and it was Sam who supported that endeavor. They took him in as a friend. Like a brother of theirs.

The Castiel that Sam knew had been with them through thick and thin, and Castiel should be alarmed at the catastrophic events he saw in Sam's mind that would come to pass, though it was intriguing how these changed him, turned him to something different. From an angel to a human, to a fallen angel and to a father of a son that wasn't his by blood and was Lucifer's even. This Castiel had been Lucifer's vessel and the Leviathans', and he was mourned when he died a few times.

This Castiel grew to love and to care for more than his duties as an angel of the Lord. Castiel doesn't understand this now, but he doesn't find them repulsive. He feels a surge of admiration for the Castiel that he can become as, and he wonders if this is the set plan for him or merely a possibility now unattainable after Sam decides to go back in time with the knowledge of his former future.

And Castiel dares to look at what urged this Sam Winchester to return to this time.

It has been quite a while but Castiel recognizes without difficulty who it is.

It's _Him._ His father, the Lord. _God_.

God became vindictive and rained his wrath on his creation that he used to love so dearly. He was too angry that he did not hesitate to left the universe to ruin. He _dies_ , and with him, the world wastes away in slow ebbing that witnessing it firsthand is the cruelest form of torture a human could endure.

But it was not even the most ruthless punishment Sam witnessed. Sam watched Dean and Castiel die more than once before, had witnessed them turn into their worst selves; Dean as a demon and someone who bore the Mark of Cain. It was never easy for Sam, and it was no easier for him once they died permanently. Sam's family died on him, and he bore the scars of their deaths throughout time.

Castiel is limited in his knowledge and understanding of human emotions, though he acknowledges that the Sam he's seeing right now is a man at the last shred of his hope to fix everything. In the end, it was just Sam and a woman who brought themselves back to the past. She was in most of Sam's last memories of his time, and she reeked of magic that no human couldn't have handled but—

Castiel holds back his judgment. For a human, Sam Winchester shouldn't be walking about after his experience in Hell, with his time inside the Cage and the length his soul was left there at the mercy of Lucifer and Michael. Sam had Lucifer in him, had walked soulless for quite a few months, had been ridden unknowingly by a rogue angel, and had shared a metaphysical connection with God.

Tenacity is the first word Castiel associates with humans upon his first contact with them, and here are the Winchesters who are a testament of that quality.

Once Castiel pulls himself from Sam's mind, he's a little discomposed, and in his eyes, it's no longer the Sam Winchester, the younger brother of the Righteous Man.

To Castiel, he's simply Sam Winchester, a survivor of an unfortunate future that lies ahead.

"Why did you show them?" he asks. It seems pertinent that he does.

"As I said," Sam begins evenly. "I trust you."

Castiel is puzzled how Sam can place his faith on him easily—he is not Sam's Castiel, not yet or maybe _never_ will be—but Sam stands there without losing his composure after Castiel muddles through his vast memories at the risk of opening those that Sam is keeping behind measly, dilapidated walls.

"You giving me this knowledge of a possible future already impacts the present," Castiel reasons. "You can change the future, yes, but now you can't be sure if it's for better or for worse."

He's tempted to tap on Sam's mind once more and erase his memories of the past. It'll be quick, easy, painless, and less complicated for Sam and the world itself. Time is a fickle thing, and no human should have this kind of foreknowledge with the intention of altering time.

"Exactly. You know the repercussions I can make. I need you to help me avoid some of them, Cas, and you're the only person I trust enough to have a clear mind to hold me back if it becomes worse for all."

Castiel stills his hands and decides that he wants to know what Sam is planning.

It's only by the end of the night does Castiel finds himself shaking the hand of Sam Winchester. He has not chosen his side, not _yet_ , not when the opposition involves his Father and Castiel has plenty of questions regarding Him as well.

But for now, he's a confidant of Sam Winchester, and if there's one thing Castiel is certain of, it's that he doesn't want to break the confidence this young man places on him.

* * *

Sam calls him once more the following day, not to speak of the future he comes from, but to ask him to ride with him in a vehicle.

Confused, Castiel allows himself to slip beside Sam Winchester, the music playing during the duration of the ride that Castiel can make in a split-second with a snap of his fingers.

Sam knows Castiel can do so, and while he doesn't forbid him, the company of Sam's silence is pleasant enough for Castiel to endure half of the hour.

The location is another nondescript motel, and when Sam knocks on the third door with Castiel in tow, the person who answers is the Righteous Man.

"Where did you—" Dean Winchester starts with irritation and relief crossing his features when he sees Sam. His gaze lands on Castiel suspiciously. "Who's this?"

Castiel opens his mouth to speak despite the brisk and rude tone, but Sam beats him to it, pushing the two of them inside the room.

"We need to talk," Sam says once inside. He addresses his brother first. "I told you I knew who pulled you out of Hell. Well, here he is."

Dean Winchester stares between his brother and Castiel, gaping slightly in disbelief. "You—Okay. First, you just go missing without a text or a call, then you're telling me I'm saved by a tax accountant. Great. Just great."

"I am not a tax accountant," Castiel insists. Jimmy Novak is far from a tax accountant either. "I am Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord."

It's strangely satisfying, Castiel realizes, that it's what it merely takes to shut the Righteous Man up.


End file.
